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Below is a picture of my 2009 GF superfly. Now, The cyclocross tires are sort of a joke. I don't run those for any real XC riding or racing. I usually run Racing Ralphs, or Small Block Eights. But the versatility for CX season is nice. I don't really want to own a real CX bike when this works so well.

The above bike with 2.25" Racing Ralphs weighs in at 26lbs. I'd love to get closer to 21-22lbs or so. Is that a bridge too far on a 29er?

The XT crankset seems to be the most obvious item here. Any suggestions for a replacement that costs under $500 US?Any other suggestions that would drop big weight quickly?

This is my first post! Hello to everyone out there! I've been lurking around the weight weenies site for a couple years.

Wheels, first and foremost. Get a set of Stan's NoTubes Crests and set them up tubeless with your Racing Ralphs. That will probably save you 1-1.5lbs right there.

Or, alternately, the Light-Bicycles 30mm carbon wheels for $570. Not the lightest at 1500g, but probably close to a whole pound lighter than what you're running right now, and a dramatic overall improvement in performance.

My HT's wheels aren't the lightest; they're 1440g but more or less indestructible. You can go lighter with Crests or Race 29ers, but you compromise a bit on the durability side.

I think I found them. I'm running some fine Chinese carbon parts on my road bike. So I don't have too much of a problem trusting their carbon work. Are there any thoughts on the Novatec or Chosen hubs? I've destroyed plenty of brand name hubs, usually rear hubs on hard tails. I'd like something reasonably durable...

I just bought some Stans Crest 29ers and they arrived today. I can tell you that they weigh in at 1620g complete with valve stems and their yellow tape. Front wheels was 765g and the rear was 855g. While I am building a full rigid 29er, it will be around 17lbs when completed so you should be able to get this under 20 lbs with suspension forks.

I have both a set of Stan's Crest/ZTR 3.30 wheels and 2 sets of Light Bicycle wheels. The Crest wheels weigh around 1575 with tape and no stems or skewers and costs a little over $500. The set of LB wheels with the AC hubs and light spokes is around 1450 but you would be well advised to run Bontrager Rythm strips which adds 44 grams each wheel bringing it up to ~1538 and also costs over $800 to build. They are way stiffer and stronger than the Crest rims though. My other set of LB wheels is heavy duty with Shimano M529 hubs and Alpine III spokes. It weighs 1927 and adding the rim strips 2015 but they are almost as stiff and strong as a solid wheel for around $500 even. On your budget I would definitely get the Crest/ZTR set. However, I do like the stiffness and steering precision of the LB wheels but you either have to pay a lot more money or not save very much weight to get that extra stiffness.

_________________For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

As stated, list out every part of your bike (in case of confusion, every means every single part ideally), also remove and weigh all those bits that are easy to do so (seatpost, saddle, clamp, stem, spacers, skewers etc etc etc)

Ideally you get to know the weight of every (single) component, then know what weight you can save for how much money on each.....

Also, regarding the Novatec hubs. I will save you reading the 4000 post thread on MTBR that took me 2 weeks to read in spare time. There have been some failures. Since you seem to be the type that is hard on hubs, I would stay away from the Novatec hubs and build your own wheels if you decide to go with LB rims. Also, some of the builds from LB have not been great. Such things and spokes so long the ends are a mm past the back of the nipple, etc.

_________________For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

While we are on the subject. LB is great at carbon rims. Their latest stuff is really good. If you read that 4000 post thread back in May/June they were having problems with the bead lock finish and a lot of returns, but their rims have gotten better and better and also lighter. They are now coming in at around 380-385. They are less proven at building wheels and at other carbon items. They failed at frames and the reviews on seatposts have been mixed.

_________________For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

I started reading some of the Chinese Carbon Rim threads. They are exhausting long. Thanks for the summary. Building my own carbon rims with even moderately priced hubs seems like a $1000 dollar endeavor. It makes the Stan's Crests look like an amazing value. Though I am gathering that the Carbons will give me a very stiff durable wheel. Maybe even better than the Crest 29ers. I'd like to have some nicer race wheels before next summer's XC season gets going. Maybe the year end tax return fairy will treat me well.

I never saw a verdict on the narrow vs. "wider" carbon rims. Seems like there were some significant shape differences that might affect how tubeless tires seat and lock the bead. I really like my current Bontragers from that perspective. The rim strips actually have a little channel that locks the bead against the rim. You gotta overinflate like an SOB to get them to seat, but once they are on there they don't burp or come loose. I have run 10-15 psi at times due to punctures, and once the hole sealed I could keep riding without any burping.

And thanks for the game plan with weighing and taking notes on actual part weights. I think I'll start doing that.

I don't think they even make the narrow ones any more. Wide is the only way to go. Also, another data point, the wide rims are 25mm at the bead which is wider than a even a Flow, but Stan's patented bead seat technology actually works. A Nevegal was actually .5 wider on the Flow rim that is 24.6 and the Crest was just slightly smaller than the LB rims as far as holding the tire wide even though they are much narrower.

I have $500 in my heavy duty version. The Shimano hubs are available for $68 landed. Also, I used Alpine III spokes which were around $75. You could use cheaper and lighter spokes ending up at just less than 1900 grams for right at $500. Another alternative is FlowEX which are going to hold a tire way wider than anything else we have talked about and they are going to be just over $550 and with the light Stan's ZRT hubs (which I like a lot) should weigh ~1900 also but give huge wide tire benefits of lower pressure, better traction, etc.

_________________For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

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